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When Is Michael Phelps’ Final Race? Find Start Times, Streaming Video Links For His Last Two Races In Rio Olympics

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 05:49 PST, Aug 12, 2016

Michael Phelps is nearing the end of his illustrious Olympics career, prompting many people to head online in search of exactly when Phelps will be competing in his final races.

The American swimming legend has already dominated in the pool in Rio, picking up four gold medals to give him 23 in total. He will now have just two races left, and viewers will be able to watch live online as Michael Phelps aims for two more gold medals (links to streaming video can be found below).

The final races for Michael Phelps will take place on Friday and Saturday evening. His next competition will be in the 100m butterfly, with the race scheduled to start at 10:12 p.m. local time (9:12 p.m. ET) on Friday. Michael Phelps’ final race will take place on Saturday night in the 4x100m relay, with the start time scheduled for 11:04 p.m. (10:04 p.m. ET).

The races will be a chance for Michael Phelps to cap off what has already been a record-setting run in the Rio Olympics. With his win in the 200m individual medley on Thursday night, Phelps became the third Olympian and the first swimmer to win four gold medals in the same individual event in consecutive Olympic Games, joining Americans Carl Lewis and discus thrower Al Oerter, Rio2016.com noted.

Fans who watch Michael Phelps’ final Olympics races live online will see if he can top the drama of Thursday’s win, when he out-dueled fellow American Ryan Lochte for perhaps the final time. The two have met countless times both in national competitions and the Olympics, and the win on Thursday brought Phelps to tears.

It was Phelps capturing the gold medal in the race with a time of one minute and 54.66 seconds, a full second ahead of silver medalist Kosuke Hagino of Japan. Lochte came in fifth.

Even though it was a disappointing finish for Lochte, Phelps said it is still a fierce — but mostly friendly — rivalry.

“Him and I have duked it out back and forth, back and forth,” Phelps said (via NJ.com). “This is a special one to both of us. He’s the world-record holder and I’m the defending champion.”

But those who watch Michael Phelps’ final races live online will not see a cakewalk to his next two gold medals. He has said that the 100m butterfly could be his most difficult race because of the heavy workload leading up to it. And as the Baltimore Sun noted, it could also revive one of the most iconic moments of the Rio Olympics so far.

“The 100 butterfly could also bring him back into competition with South African Chad le Clos, the swimmer associated with Phelps’ sour face that became a social-media sensation early in the week.”

But even though Michael Phelps is coming up on the final races of the Rio Olympics, those close to the record-smashing swimmer think that he still could have another round in him. After Phelps’ gold-medal win on Thursday, Lochte said he would be surprised if Phelps quit now.

Although Phelps will be 35-years-old by the time the 2020 Tokyo Olympics roll around, Lochte said he expects to see Phelps there.

“I guarantee he will be there,” Lochte said on NBC’s Today show on Friday (via USA Today). “I think so. I really think so. So, Michael, I’ll see you in Tokyo.”

Close family members also believe Michael Phelps may have another round in him.

“That would be wonderful,” said his mother, Debbie Phelps. “I already have the race picked out.”

Those who want to watch Michael Phelps in his final races of the Rio Olympics can find streaming video at nbcolympics.com.

[Photo by Michael Sohn/AP Images]

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